Wings of Fate
by Sailor Star Moon Angela N
Summary: -SM-R1/2 alt. rel.-x-over- Ranma and Akane are married, and are expecting twins. The day the twins are born, the Saotome's discover a little unwelcome surprise.
1. Prologue: Birth

**_A Ranma ½ - Sailor Moon Crossover_**

Disclaimers: Any characters used in this story that are not involved in either one of the original series belong to me, so don't take them. Sailor Moon and Ranma ½ unfortunately, do not. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, DiC, and Toei and Kodansha, and probably a whole big bunch of other companies I don't know the names of. While Ranma ½ belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan Inc, Shonen Sunday Comics, and Viz Video. 

Timeline: This story takes place 20 years after the final volume of the Ranma ½ magna came out, and before Sailor Moon starts; After the prologue, the storyline will take place one year after Sailor Moon Sailor Stars. Akane and Ranma are married, as is the rest of the Ranma ½ cast. 

E-mail your comments to: [star_moon_strata@hotmail.com][1]

Come visit my webpage at: [http://homepages.go.com/~sailorrealitysfanficarchive/][2]

Wings of Fate  
Prologue: Birth  
By: Sailor Star Moon

  
~Nerima, Japan ~ Nerima General Hospital, Maternity Ward - 17 years ago~ 

  
"Come on Akane! Just try and hold on a little longer! The doctor said all you need to do is give one more push and it'll be all over." a young man's voice called out as he urged his wife on. Ranma sat in a chair next to his wife's hospital bed, gently holding her hand in his own, trying to lend her support as best as he could. "He said that the baby should going to be coming soon." 

"That's easy for you to say, Ranma! This is a lot harder than you think." Akane's snapped, moments before she cried out in pain as another sharp contraction hit her. "THAT'S IT! THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'M LETTING YOU TOUCH ME, RANMA!! I AM _NOT_ GOING TO LET YOU GET ME PREGNANT EVER AGAIN!!" she shrieked in pain. 

Soon Ranma was shouting in pain, as Akane reflexively gave his hand a hard squeeze, as the contraction hit her, squeezing it so hard that the nurses in the room, could almost hear the sound of bone grinding together. 

As the contraction finally past, Akane laid there panting from the exertion, sweat poring from her body and staining her hospital gown. Hearing Ranma's groans of pain she glanced first over at her husband then down at their entwined hands, realized what she had done, and released her husband's hand, giving him an apologetic, yet strained look. "I'm sorry about that Ranma. I didn't mean for that to happen…" 

"It's okay, really, Akane." Ranma said instantly, trying to calm down his wife. "Uncute macho chick," Ranma muttered, as he pushed his chair back away from the bed as far as he could, cradling his injured hand closely to his body, as another moan of pain passed his lips, grimacing before he forced a smile to his lips, as he stared back at Akane, "I don't hold it against ya, Akane. I guess I should a expected it. When you are like this, I'd say that you're almost just as strong as Ryouga," he said teasingly. 

Akane let out a soft growl of mock anger over Ranma's choice of words, knowing that he was only trying to make her feel better, yet. After being married to Ranma for the last year and a half, their insults had become more of a playful foreplay between the two martial artists, or more like pet names for each other. But before she could retort the doctor came into the room. 

"Well hello there, Mr. and Mrs. Saotome." The doctor greeted, sounding cheerful as he walked over to the hospital bed and proceeded to examine Akane. "How are you feeling now, Mrs. Saotome?" he asked. 

Akane glowered at the doctor in anger before answering, as she gripped the bedside hand railings so she could sit up. "Doctor Shokaido, just how do you think I feel?! I'm having a baby here, and it hurts like-AIIIIEEEEEE!!!" she demanded just before another contraction hit her hard making her cry out in pain, causing her grip to tighten on the handrails. As the maternity nurses watched in both shock and horror, the handrails bend under her grip, before snapping off all together in her hands. 

Dr. Shokaido stood unfazed by the sight, acting as if this was an everyday occurrence, only letting out a sigh and shaking his head ruefully, as he finished his examination "I can see that, Mrs. Saotome. Seeing how this is your first pregnancy, your doing remarkably well. My examination shows me that you are dilated." 

Ranma gained a confused look on his features as he glanced over at the doctor. "Is that a good sign or a bad sign, Doc?" he demanded. 

Dr. Shokaido let out a chuckle at Ranma's words. "It's a very good sign, Saotome. Being dilated means that the baby is about to come any minute now." He said as he turned his attention back to Akane, he gave her round belly a gentle pat. "You'll be holding your child in your arms soon, Mrs. Saotome. So you should get ready to push when I tell you to, all right?" 

Akane laid back against the pillows, flushed and panting as she stared at the doctor with wide unfocused eyes, finally releasing her grip on what used to be the handrails. "That's good to here, Doctor," she said as calmly as she could. "I don't think I can take this for much longer." 

"Good. Now, Mr. Saotome, can you move back over here? Your wife may need all of the support that she can get at the moment." 

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." Ranma said as he stood up from his chair to move back to the bed and once more took Akane's hand with his one good hand, planning to stay by Akane's side even if it cost him the use of his hands, which "I still can't believe that we finally made it this far, without trouble," he thought silently to himself as a bright smile spread across his features. Even as he stood there he allowed his mind to wonder back to everything that had finally led up to this day. 

* * *

A year and a half ago, three months after the battle against Saffron, Ranma finally confessed his love for Akane a month before the two were going to graduate from Furinkan High, and Akane had returned his feelings in full, and things went well between them since then. 

After the second failed wedding attempt a month later, interrupted by Ranma's fiancé's and rivals, a week later the two got married in a private marriage ceremony in a small church in Tokyo, with only their family members attending, despite protests from Soun and Genma which were ended when Nodako who pulled out her katanna to threaten the two older men with. Even Nabiki helped with making arrangements for free, without letting any of Ranma's other fiancé's know, or else they would have been stopped. 

To say the least, when they all got back to Nerima, how everyone else reacted to the news was expected. 

  
At Akane's insistence, they had stopped off at Ukyou's restaurant first to let the ookanamayaki chef know the news first. Luckily for them, Ryouga was already at Ukyou's restaurant eating lunch after having wondered in earlier, so telling him the news wouldn't have had to wait until whenever he found his way back to Nerima. Their first reactions to the news were stunned open-mouthed shock. Then anger settled in, and Ukyou was the first to make her move. She picked up her battle spatula and attacked Akane accusing her of seducing her Ran-chan away from her, by forcing him to marry her against his will. Ranma had managed to stop the attack by catching hold of the spatula before it came close to seriously harming Akane, then had gone over to Akane to see if she was hurt, while casting Ukyou an angry look. 

Despite her protests over how much she loved him, Ranma insisted that he loved Akane, and told Ukyou that he'd always only seen her as a friend and nothing else except that. Seeing how Ranma treated Akane and how close the two now were, Ukyou finally realized the truth of what had happened, coming to realize that she had seen all the signs coming since the Saffron fiasco, but had written them all off as her imagination, but now realized that it had not been her imagination. With a heart wrenching sob, Ukyou burst into tears and ran out of the restaurant and up the stairs to her bedroom where she through herself onto her bed and cried. When Ranma tried to follow her, Konatsu who barred the way to the stairs, giving Ranma a look of contempt, only stopped him, after eavesdropping on the conversation between his mistress and her now ex-fiancé. 

Ryouga simply sat on his stool staring at the entire scene silently, a depressed dead look settling in on his features before he stood up, left some money on the counter top next to the cash register, picked up his pack and simply left without a word to them. 

Akane stood up from her seat and made her way over to where Ranma was and placed a hand on his shoulder, told him that they should come back later on to check on her, then gently led him from the restaurant, to go speak to everyone else. 

  
The Amazons were next. Shampoo could only sit on her stool with tears running down her cheeks as she listened to what they told Cologne, Mousse and herself about the marriage. Shampoo had been ready to leap up off the stool and give Akane the Kiss of Death, and then take Ranma for herself as her husband as Amazon law demanded, only to be stopped by Cologne who only shook her head sadly, a look of defeat on her wizened features, before Cologne finally swallowed her pride and grudgingly congratulated Ranma and Akane on their wedding. Mousse stood nearby, completely ecstatic by the news, with thoughts of how Shampoo was now free to marry him now that Saotome was no longer available, and immediately rushed forward to shake Ranma's hand, thanking him over and over again as he did so, before turning back around to try and grab Shampoo in a hug and congratulate themselves on their good fortune, only to be splashed with cold water and turned into a duck before he got far. 

  
The Kuno's were no better. Tatewaki immediately began spouting off insulting words, accusing Ranma of using his dark magic to enchant Akane, seducing her into marrying Ranma when she could have him instead. And then commented on how now that his darling 'pig-tailed girl' would now be free of Saotome's evil dark influence and would now be his. That was when his long-winded tirade was immediately cut off as both Ranma and Akane punched and kicked him in the gut, knocking him out instantly. 

  
Kodachi seemed to take the news a lot calmer than her brother did, even though a few tears leaked out from under her eyes to fall and hit the wooden floor where she sat. She claimed not to have been as crazy as she let a lot of people believe. Despite how she had felt about Ranma, she had known all along that he was in love with Akane, and that she was now willingly handing him over to Akane without a fuss. Saying so she simply stood up without another word and left the room. 

  
After that, things calmed down enough for the couple to start enjoying their marital bliss, for awhile. Over the next three months, several different families came to the Tendo dojo looking for Ranma and Genma, seeking to call on the pledge made by Genma Saotome for Ranma to marry their daughters, or to collect on debts that were owed to them by Genma that he had made over the years during the training trip. 

  
Some of the families simply left town after finding out that the potential betrothed husband they had come searching for was now already married to another girl, giving up without really putting up a fight. While others that came tried to force the issue by threatening to sue the Saotomes if they didn't pay back the money for stolen food, teaching scrolls, dowries, etc. Since most of the debts had been made in Ranma's name by Genma, the debtors went straight to Ranma demanding that he pay up, hounding him from weeks on end, until Nodako put a stop to it, and insisted that the only one responsible for the bills was Genma and not Ranma, whom she then pointed out as, having been too young all those years ago to be legally held responsible for any of the things Genma did in his name. 

  
After that statement, the debtors change route and started hounding Genma. Nodako used money out of an inheritance she had received from a relative years ago to pay off most of the debts, while she force Genma to get a job so he can pay off the rest himself. 

  
Ranma and Ukyou got back together and settled their differences, becoming best friends once more. And Ukyou had started dating Ryouga who had broken off his relationship with Akari Unryuu. And were now planning to have a spring wedding coming up. 

  
After Nodako moved into the dojo to help around the house, Kasumi moved out and into her own apartment, where she decided to re-enter school, to take courses on medicine with Dr. Tofu's help, and the two started dating soon after. 

  
It would be another three months before Akane found herself with child, and a sonogram showed that she would be expecting twins. But after a little debate (and a whole lot of arguments and protestastions from their parents) the two decided to wait until the twins were born to find out what gender the two would be. They just wanted to be surprise was all they told their family. 

  
For the next six months, the Saotomes spent the rest of the time preparing Kasumi's old room, transforming it into a nursery to place the babies in when they were born. On opposite sides of the room, there were two matching baby cribs and a dresser filled with baby things. A double stroller was leaning against the wall in the closet waiting the day when it could be put into use. During the decorating of the babies room, they had argues over what type of wallpaper they should use, before finally compromising. The wall area near the balcony, had been painted over with blue paint, and ultra cute multi colored duck and pig wallpaper glued to one section of the room where one crib was, while wallpaper with robots painted on were adorning another section of the room where the other crib was. 

* * *

"… all right now, Mrs. Saotome. Now, I'm going to need you to push. Mr. Saotome, we'll need your help now, if you please." 

Ranma's mind comes back into focus as he hears the doctors' words, and turns his attention back to the task at hand. The doctor was now positioned in between Akane's legs ready to receive the first baby. "Huh?" Ranma asked distractedly. 

"Ranma the babies are coming now!" Akane shouted. 

Immediately, releasing Akane's hand, he moved his arms behind her back to give her a supportive hug. 

"Now when I tell you to, I want you to start pushing." Dr. Shokaido said as he positioned himself in front of Akane. 

  
15 minutes later, the maternity ward was filled by the double soprano sound of babies crying, as Akane gave birth to first a baby girl with a soft red fuz of hair sticking out on its head, and then a baby boy 6 minutes later, with black hair. 

"Well done, Mrs. Saotome. As far as I can tell." Dr. Shokaido exclaimed incouragely, as he held the small squirming, wailing baby in his arms. Cutting the umbillical cords off, he turned to hand the twins to the waiting nurses to wash off, and dress. 

"Nice job, Akane." Ranma placed a kiss on his wifes cheek, as another nurse tended to his injured hand. "You did great. You couldn't have done it any better." 

Akane smiled slightly at the news, wanting to do nothing except just lie down and rest. "Thanks Ranma." she said, just as a sharp gasp filled the air coming from where the two nurses were. Both Akane and Ranma turned their attention to the nurses, as fear filled them as the sight they saw before them. The two nurses that Shokaido had given the twins to were standing over the small tubs that they had placed the babies into in order to wash off the extra blood and grime.. 

"What the hell!" one of the nurses cried out as she stared down at the baby she held in her arms, which she had 

"How did that happen." The other nurse exclaimed. 

Dr. Shokaido hurried over to the bathing area as fast as he could. "Here now, what's going on? What happened?!" he demanded. 

"Doctor, the babies, they both..." the nurse began, only to stop in midsentence to glance over at the Saotomes worriedly, before dropping her voice down to a whisper. The other nurse joined in the conversation, and soon their voices rose, as the doctor reprimanded the nurses for something. 

Ranma and Akane shared worried look, before Ranma spoke up. "Hey, doc!" he said, as he made his way over to the group. "What's up? Is their something wrong with the babies." 

Dr. Shokaido broke off from the two nurses, who quickly took the babies out of the tubs, and began drying them off. He took Ranma's arm and led him out of the room to speak with him in private. "Just a mixup. Mister Saotome. These two nurses just told me an ouragious tale over what happened when they gave your son and daughter a bath." 

A sweatdrop rolled down Ranma's head. "What kind of story?" 

Shokaido merely shook his head. "It's nothing really. They just said that it seems that the twins changed when they touched the water." 

"Changed?!" Ranma exclaimed, his voice rising. "What do you mean by changed?! 

"Like I said before, it couldn't be true." He said, trying to placate the young father. "What they claim is impossible and…" his words are cut off as Ranma grabs him by the collar and lifts him up off the ground. "Mr. Saotome…" 

"Doc, I don't want to get rough with ya, but you better tell me what happened now!" Ranma said, a deep growl of anger touching his voice as he spoke, "Just what do you mean by, 'they changed'?" 

One of nurses that had been tending to the twins stepped forward shakily, as she held the small baby in her arms, which was now wrapped in a small pink blanket. "I will tell you, Mr. Saotome. When both Minmei and myself bathed your children, they changed forms." 

Minmei only nodded her head in agreement. In her arms she held the other baby, which was wrapped in a blue blanket. "If I didn't know better I'd say that they changed into each other." She added, her voice shaking from the shock. "When I placed your son into the tub, the water was supposed to be lukewarm, but it had turned cold while we waited for your wife to give birth. I can't explain it, but as soon as your son touched the water he changed into a girl. A red head little girl." 

"The same happened to your daughter, except her hair became black, and the obvious male body parts appeared." The other nurse added in. 

Ranma released his grip on the doctor, allowing him to slide down the wall to the ground, as Ranma leaned against the wall, placing his face in his hands, and lets out a loud groan, before punching a nearby wall in anger, leaving fist sized dent in the wall. "Ah man! I don't believe this! It cursed them!" 

The two nurses jumped back at the sight of Ranma's angered reaction, staring at him cautiously as they both bounced the fussing babies in their arms. 

"Mr. Saotome? Are you all right. What is this about a curse" Dr. Shokaido asked cautiously as he slowly stood back up, watching the young man warily, "As I said before this is nothing but a hoax dredged up by these two. It is impossible No one is able to change genders when splashed with cold water, and we'll have this matter fixed—" 

"Don't bother." Ranma said calmly. "There's nothing to fix." 

"Excuse me?" Shokaido said. 

Moving his hands away from his face and down to his sides, Ranma let's out a sigh as he stared directly at the three hospital workers. "If they say that's what happened, then it must be true. Because if it is, then they got it from me. The only way to prove it, is if one of you could get 2 cups of warm water if ya don't mind." 

"I don't understand what's going on, but I'll get it. If you'll take your daughter for a few minutes, I'll go get the water." Looking skeptical, the nurse that had informed Ranma of what had happened, she handed his daughter/son over, before heading down the hall towards the lounge. 

Ranma clumsily held the baby in his arms for a few moments, before finally finding the right grip to hold her without risking dropping the baby, and he gazed lovingly down at the small body in his arms, only to find a pair of matching sapphire blue eyes staring back at him with a curious look within. Without really thinking, Ranma shifted the baby to one arm, and then reached out a finger with his free hand towards the baby, and as he watched, the baby reached out from under the blanket to get a firm grip on his finger, pulling it towards her small mouth to suck on. 

"Will you look at that," he exclaimed proudly at the speed the baby had used to grab his finger, a big smile spreading over his face "Looks like this one will make a great martial artist one day." 

"Mr. Saotome. Can you explain what you meant before, when you said that the twins inherited it from you? Exactly what did they inherit from you?" the doctor demanded incredulously. 

Before Ranma could answer the nurse returned with the required glasses of water. 

"You'll see in a moment, doc." Ranma responded as he began unwrapping the pink blanket from his daughter. "Give me one of those glasses will ya?" he said as he reached out for one of the cups. 

The nurse silently handed the cup to Ranma without a word. 

"This is the one who turned into a boy, right?" Ranma asked. 

The nurse only nodded. 

"Good. Now watch. You'll see the change happen immediately, when her hair changes color." Ranma said just before he poured some of the water onto his good hand, then allowed a few drops of the warm liquid to hit the baby before him. Almost instantly, the pitch black fuzz of hair on the baby's head, changed from black to a bright red. 

Gasps from the doctor and two nurses surrounded Ranma as he bit back a curse. 'Damn, I was really hoping that it wasn't true after all." He thought angrily as he reached for the other baby, and spilled the water on that one, with the same results. 

"That's impossible! It's scientifically impossible!" the doctor exclaimed as he examined the babies himself, to make sure that he wasn't seeing thing, finding out that the babies had indeed changed genders. "How." 

"They got it from me." Ranma said quietly. "Here let me tell you a story that happened to me a couple of years back." He said before turning towards the two nurses, with both babies in his arms. "You should take them to my wife. They must be hungry by now." He said as he handed the babies to the nurses, then turned and grabbed the doctors arm and led him away. 

  
~Awhile later~ 

Ranma returned to Akane's hospital room after having a lengthy conversation with the good doctor, explaining about the curses and showing the doctor his own curse to help prove that what he was saying was true, before finally getting both the doctor and two nurses to agree not to tell anyone what happened. 

Akane sat up in her bed, reading a book quietly, waiting for him, with the twins sleeping on both sides of her. Hearing the door open, she glanced up and then put the book away when she saw her husband. "Ranma?" 

"Akane I'm sorry," Ranma began as he sat down on the bed, only to be quieted as Akane placed a hand on his lips to quiet him. 

"I know, the nurses told me what happened." Akane said sadly. "I can't believe this happened. I was really hoping that they'd live normal lives without having to worry about telling them about your Jusenkyo curse until they were old enough to understand it. But-" 

"…But they've been born cursed. Damn Jusenkyo. Why can't it stop complicating things. First it dried up after the battle with Saffron years ago, and now this." Ranma said angrily 

"Well they'll have to live through it, and get used to it like you and the others did." Akane said as she sat up fully to stare up at him. 

"Yeah I guess so," Ranma said solemnly. 

"It'll be okay Ranma, really." Akane said, as she moved in closer for a kiss. 

Just before their lips met, they break apart in surprise as they hear someone suddenly clear their throat loud enough to get their attention. 

"Huh?!" 

"Wha?!" 

Standing at the entrance of the room was a nurse holding a clipboard. "Mr. and Mrs. Saotome. I hate to interrupt you but I will need to know the names that you will give the twins in order to put it down in county records." 

Ranma and Akane stared at each other for a moment before glancing down at the babies. 

"We'd talked about it a lot during the time I was pregnant with the twins…" Akane began. 

"… and we've really thought about it." Ranma said before he reached over to pick up his daughter, being extra careful not to wake her. "If one of them was a girl, her name will be Ranko…" 

"… and if the other was a boy, his name would be Sanma." Akane finished, as she lifted up her son. 

The nurse smiled good-naturedly, as she wrote down the on the clipboard. "Those are good names for them. I'll take this information down to the records office right now, so don't let me stop you from what you were doing before." She said with a sly smile, before shutting the door behind her on the way out. 

Ranma and Akane sat staring at the closed door, as matching blushes spread across their faces, before they broke off into laughter, that woke up the twins. 

"Maybe this won't be as bad as we're afraid it would be, Akane." Ranma said as he tried to soothe Ranko as best as he could, before the infant finally settled down into soft hiccupping sounds as her blue eyes stared up at Ranma. Ranma held out a finger towards Ranko who immediately latched onto it with one of her small hands, and began making soft baby cooing sounds. 

"We'll have to see, before we come to that conclusion Ranma," Akane said as she stared down at her son. 

As the two babies drifted off back to sleep, the two proud parents gently placed kisses on their small foreheads. 

"Welcome to the world, Ranko and Sanma." They whispered quietly at the same time. 

  


To Be Continued…

Authors Notes:  
Well how do you all like my new crossover?? Do you like it or hate it? E-mail me. I know, it's both weird, and maybe a little cruel, to curse both babies, but I couldn't help it!. I couldn't get rid of the picture I got when I imagined Ranko and Sanma. 

As you already saw, when Ranko turns into a guy she turns into a brunette, while Sanma turns into a redhead girl. What if they two could pass as identical twins when they are together in both their cursed and original forms (depending on which twin is in which form at the time.) 

Anyways, Sanma and Ranko are my characters, so don't take them! Oh the plans I have for these two in the future. ^_^

   [1]: mailto:star_moon_strata@hotmail.com
   [2]: http://homepages.go.com/~sailorrealitysfanficarchive/



	2. Chapter 1: Family Ties

A Ranma ½ - Sailor Moon Crossover  
  
Disclaimers: Any characters used in this story that are not involved in   
either one of the original series belong to me, so don't take them.   
Sailor Moon and Ranma ½ unfortunately, do not. Sailor Moon belongs to   
Naoko Takeuchi, DiC, and Toei and Kodansha, and probably a whole big   
bunch of other companies I don't know the names of. While Ranma ½   
belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan Inc, Shonen Sunday Comics, and   
Viz Video.   
  
Timeline: This story takes place 20 years after the final volume of the   
Ranma ½ magna came out, and before Sailor Moon starts; After the   
prologue, the storyline will take place a few months after all the   
Sailor Scouts (except Venus) were found. Akane and Ranma are married,   
as is the rest of the Ranma ½ cast. Chapter 1 takes place during the   
middle of the first Season of Sailor Moon.  
.  
  
E-mail your comments to: star_moon_strata@hotmail.com  
  
Come visit my webpage at:   
http://homepages.go.com/~sailorrealitysfanficarchive/  
  
Wings of Fate  
Chapter 1: Family Ties  
By: Sailor Star Moon  
  
~Present Day - Nerima, 6:55 a.m ~  
  
Monday morning, the sun is just beginning to make it's slow   
ascent into the sky, just as alarm clocks begin to blare in within the   
confines of the Tendo-Saotome family home.  
  
Ranma was the first up as always as he turned over onto his side   
to turn off the buzzer, and laid back on the bed, wanting to do nothing   
except get a few moments more sleep after the long night he had. Just   
as he came to the decision to do just so, he rolled back around to   
reach for his wife to pull her closer, only to find himself grabbing   
air instead.  
  
"Akane?" Ranma called, lifting up his head, he saw that she was   
indeed gone. Ranma called as he opened his eyes once more, and sat up   
to look around the room for Akane, only to find her nowhere to be   
found. Sniffing the air, he can nose picks up the delicious aroma of   
food cooking downstairs, immediately telling him where she was.  
  
Letting out a groan, he swung his legs over the side of the bed   
and climbed out, pulling on a pair of pants as he heads towards the   
bedroom door.  
  
As he stepped out into the hall, he could hear the sound of   
snoring coming from one of the main bedrooms down the hall, along with   
the sound of running water coming from the hall bathroom, telling him   
that some of the rest of house's occupants were up, smiling before   
turning towards the end of the hallway and makes his way downstairs.  
  
***  
  
In the kitchen, Akane stood at the stove preparing a meal of   
bacon, eggs and grits for her family. Years ago after Sanma and Ranko   
had been born, and at Ranma's insistence that she learn to cook before   
she wound up killing their children with the way her cooking currently   
was, Akane finally admitted that she needed help with her cooking, and   
took a crash cooking course with both Nodako and Kasumi's help, Akane   
was finally able to cook normal food without trying to improvise on the   
taste or grabbing the wrong bottles of ingredients. Now she prepared   
great meals, that no longer make people cringe in both fear and   
remembered pain when they hear that she's the one that cooked.  
  
Sitting at the table already eating breakfast was the youngest of   
the three Saotome children, who sat eating her second helping of bacon   
and eggs, 13-year-old Miaka looked up when Ranma came into the kitchen.  
  
"Hi daddy." Miaka greeted in between bites.  
  
"Hiya Mi-chan." Ranma greeted as he walked past his daughter,   
stopping a few moments ruffle Miaka's brown hair, then heads straight   
for Akane who didn't look at him as she served up another helping of   
bacon of eggs from the frying pan. Wrapping his arms around Akane's   
waist he pulls her into a hug, and places a kiss on her cheek. "I   
missed you this morning, tomboy." He said teasingly, before moving out   
of reach of her swing.  
  
"Sorry Ranma, but you were sleeping so soundly that I decided not   
to wake you," Akane said as she turned around in his embrace to return   
the kiss. "I woke up early this morning around 6:50, so I could begin   
preparing breakfast early for the kids. Remember that Ranko and Sanma   
are supposed to be starting school in Juuban today."  
  
"Oh yeah." Ranma said as he released Akane, as he remembered.   
"Now I remember. Since Furinkan High is going to be closed for this   
entire school year for renovations, all the kids are being sent to   
Juuban in Tokyo, starting today."  
  
"That's right. The old school really needs those new   
modifications, since it never fully recovered from when we attended."   
Akane said as she turned back to the stove. "And their going to need to   
get an early start if their going to make it to the school on time, and   
they promised Ryouga and Ukyou that they'd pick up Hikaru and Jinpei   
from their home and walk them to school." She said, as she scooped out   
a helping of food onto a plate and placed it in front of Ranma who had   
moved to the table, just as she suddenly glanced up at the ceiling, as   
she heard the sound of running footsteps coming from upstairs.   
"Speaking of which, are Ranko and Sanma up yet?"  
  
Ranma took a bite of his meal, and quickly swallowed before   
answering. "When I was coming downstairs, it sounded like Ranko was up,   
and taking a shower in the furo. I could hear Sanma snoring away from   
inside his bedroom." Ranma said with a shake of his head. "Sanma should   
be up by now like Ranko is, yet he's still asleep."  
  
"Mama? Do you want me to go wake up Sanma, so he won't make   
Ranko-chan late?" Miaka asked expectantly, as she pushed away her plate   
and got ready to get up and head upstairs.  
  
Before her mother could respond to her question, the trio hear   
suddenly hear a loud splashing sound coming from upstairs, followed by   
a shrill shriek of outrage, then silence. A few moments later, they   
then hear the sound of running footsteps, and a loud bellow:  
  
"*RANKO!!!!! COME BACK HERE!!!!!*"  
  
Ranma smirked at the commotion that was coming from upstairs.   
"Don't bother, Miaka. It sounds like your sister just woke him up right   
now." He said he tried to smother a chuckle.  
  
Akane was trying to also hide her mirth but was failing at it   
miserably.  
  
Just then a red and blue blur came barreling down the stairs,   
heading straight for the kitchen, ducking behind her father's chair and   
heading for the laundry room, as Ranko Saotome made her appearance,   
dressed in a navy blue boy's school uniform, her long red hair tied   
back into a ponytail going halfway down her back, as her blue eyes   
sparkled with mirth. "Morning mum, 'ning daddy. Hi, Miaka," her voice   
called as she passed by. "If Sanma asks tell him you didn't see me."  
  
"Good morning Ranko. Akane called good-naturedly  
  
"Sleep well, daughter?" Ranma added.  
  
Ranko's reply was muffled from where she was hiding.  
  
A few moments after Ranko came down, the sound of thumping   
footsteps making their way down the steps was heard, just before a   
soaked mirror image of Ranko with eyeglasses comes charging into the   
kitchen wearing nothing except pajama top shirt, that barely went past   
her knees, in her hands was a half filled Super Soaker 2000 water gun.  
  
"Hi mom, dad, Mi-chan Sorry but I can't talk right now. Where is   
she?" Sanma said as calmly as she could as she made her way all the way   
into the kitchen as she scanned the area for her twin.  
  
"Where is who?" Ranma asked innocently, as he raised an eyebrow   
in question. "If you're talking about your sister, ya just missed her."  
  
"Dad, she splashed me again, when I was trying to sleep..." Sanma   
complained (not whining) looking down, but then her attention towards   
the laundry room, just as a loud sneeze came from within. "Aha!" she   
exclaimed as she tossed the super soaker onto the kitchen counter and   
charged into the laundry room.  
  
A loud 'eep' was heard followed by a thunk and cries, as Sanma   
dragged her sister out of laundry room, with Ranko draped over her   
shoulder, yelling and kicking as she tried to dislodge herself from   
Sanma's grip. The rest of the family followed the two teens as Sanma   
carried Ranko outside and into the backyard.  
  
***  
  
~25 minutes ago~  
  
  
Ranko got up out of bed, dressed in red and white flowered   
nightgown, as she stretched out her arms, doing a few warm-up kata's to   
work out the kinks in her body, just as she   
  
Her mouth drew into a deep frown as she heard the snores coming   
from the room next door that belonged to her twin, and shook her head   
in disappointment. 'Not again! He's going to make us late to our new   
school in our Sophomore year.' She thought angrily to herself, as she   
headed for her closet, that held her school uniforms from both Furinkan   
High and from Juban High. After a few moments of searching she finally   
comes back out with a boys school uniform hanging from a hanger.  
  
As she steps out into the hallway the aroma of bacon and eggs   
coming from downstairs got her attention. "I might as well take a   
shower and get ready for school now, then wake up Sanma if he's not up   
by the time I'm out."  
  
Running towards the bathroom, she slams the bathroom door behind   
her. Walking over to the furo, she sits on the rim of the tub, and   
twists the hot and cold shower knobs, before pulling up the tab that   
turns on the overhead shower, letting the water run as she striped off   
her clothes, and stepping into the tub.  
  
Eight minutes later, Ranko came back out of the bathroom dressed   
in a bathrobe, her long red hair hanging down her back in long strands   
from under a towel that she had wrapped around her head. As she entered   
her room to her bedroom, she sat down in front of her desk and pulled   
out a brush and comb and a hand held hair dryer, and began running a   
first the comb through her hair to get out the tangles, while using her   
free hand to hold the dryer so she could blow dry her hair at the same   
time. After a 2 minutes, her hair was finally completely dry.  
  
Getting back up, she walked over to where she left her uniform   
and takes it off the hanger, and moves to stand in front of the full   
length closet mirror, holding the uniform in front of her as she fully   
examined it, before finally getting a disgusted look on her face. 'The   
things I have to go through because of this curse,' she thought   
unhappily. 'I can't even wear a girls school uniform because of it. And   
I can just imagine what the students at Juban are going to say when   
they see me come to class dressed in a boy's uniform.' She thought as   
she got began changing her out of her robe.   
  
A few moments later, Ranko once more stepped out of her room, and   
into the hallway, and silently made her way a few doors down towards   
her brothers bedroom, where, she could still hear the faint sounds of   
his snoring coming from within, along with the persistent sound of the   
buzzer from his alarm clock. Pushing the bedroom door open as far as it   
could go without causing it to make any sounds, she spots Sanma lying   
sprawled out on his bed completely knocked out, wearing nothing except   
a pair of boxers, his legs tangled in the sheets and blanket of his   
bed. On one of side of his bed she can see his alarm clock lying on the   
floor, where Sanma had knocked it to in his sleep when it had first   
come on.  
  
"Geez, he's gotten lazy over the summer." Ranko said aloud,   
putting her hands on her hips as she frowned down at Sanma. "If I don't   
wake him up now, we'll never get to Juban High on time, and it's all   
the way across town." Shaking her head ruefully, she reached down and   
yanked the and blanket off her brother, without getting any reaction   
except for a grumble, and muttering before he turned around to lie on   
his stomach without waking up.  
  
"Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way, Sanma-kun." Ranko   
said to her sleeping brother, still not getting a reaction from him.   
"It's time for 'Operation: Splashdown'" she called as she turned around   
and left the room heading back towards the bathroom.  
  
Grabbing a small bowl that was lying on the counter, Ranko went   
to the bathroom sink, and began running the water into the sink,   
waiting until it was nice and ice cold before filling the bowl with the   
liquid, before turning off the taps, and carried the water back to   
Sanma's room being extra careful not to splash the water onto herself,   
where she then unceremoniously dumped the water onto Sanma's bare back,   
activating his curse.  
  
Sanma's feminine shout of surprise could be heard throughout the   
house, as she sat bolt upright using her elbows to prop herself up and   
as the cold water poured down her sides. As she spun around to find out   
who the culprit was, he found herself getting a face full of his pajama   
tops. As he pulled them away, he looked up in the direction they came   
from and saw the smirking face of her twin. "Ranko! What the hell was   
that for?!"  
  
Ranko shrugged her shoulders, before looking pointedly at Sanma.   
"Before I answer that you should put your top on. Or do you enjoy   
flashing your chest in front of me, imotou-chan?"  
  
Sanma involuntarily glanced down at her now female body, blushed   
bright red, then grudgingly put on the shirt Ranko had thrown at her.   
"Answer the question, Ranko." Sanma demanded as she put on the shirt.   
The pajama top just barely filled out around Sanma's body, hanging just   
above her knees as she stood up to glower at her sister, while reaching   
over towards the nearby nightstand for her eyeglasses.  
  
"Had to wake you up some how, didn't I?" Ranko said as she turned   
around to head back out the door. "Do you know how late it is now?   
We've still got to go pick up Hikaru and Jinpei from their house   
remember?" Ranko said as she turned back around to face Sanma. "If we   
don't hurry they'll try and head for the school on their own, and   
there's no telling where they'd wind up then, or how long it'd take   
before they find their way back."  
  
"That still doesn't excuse the reason for you to splash me like   
that. That water was ice cold!" Sanma shouted, as his battle aura rose   
a notch.  
  
By that time, Ranko had her back to Sanma, and could feel Sanma-  
chan's rising battle aura building up behind her, and she glanced over   
her shoulder towards Sanma and saw the look in his eyes. So she spoke   
quickly as she slinked towards the door. "Now Sanma, no need to get   
upset," Ranko began before she made a break out the door.  
  
"*RANKO!!! COME BACK HERE!!!!*" Sanma's battle cry rang out   
throughout the household.  
  
***  
  
"Sanma!!" Ranko cried out, the tone in her voice sounding   
indignant at the treatment she was receiving, but there was a hint of   
laughter in her voice and from the expression on her face, as she   
twisted on her brother/sister shoulder, then yelped in pain as Sanma   
landed a hard whap on her butt with her free hand, "This is no way to   
treat your elder sister, you know! Let go of me! Oh come on! You sleep   
like a log, and splashing you with the cold water was the only way to   
wake you up," when he didn't respond to her goading, she glanced over   
her shoulder to see where they were headed, she realizes that Sanma was   
taking her straight to the koi pond.  
  
"NO! Anything but the koi pond! Sanma your going to make us late   
if you dump me in there!" Ranko cried out as she doubled her struggles   
in earnest. "This is my only pressed uniform for that school!"  
  
"Oh, I know, sis." Sanma-chan said casually, a note of sarcasm in   
her voice, as she continued on her path to the pond. "But I've decided   
that it would be worth it, in order to get you back for splashing me   
this morning."  
  
"Mom, Daddy, help!" Ranko pleaded as she turned her attention   
towards Ranma.  
  
Chuckling a bit, Ranma decided to intervene before things got   
nasty. "Sanma, let her go. The two of you are already going to be late   
as it is on your first day of school." Ranma said as he walked steadily   
over towards the twins.  
  
"But, dad!" Sanma complained as she held Ranko over. "She started   
it, and…"  
  
"Deal with it when you guys get home from school." Akane cut in   
as she approached the duo, a stern look on her face, as she frowned at   
Sanma and Ranko, as she put her hands on her hips. "I can't believe the   
two of you are starting up this early in the morning. Sanma go back   
upstairs and take a shower, then put on your school uniform. Ranko get   
in the kitchen and eat your breakfast while you wait for your brother."   
Akane demanded as she turned her back on the three martial artists to   
head back into the kitchen.  
  
When nobody moved fast enough, Akane turned back towards them,   
her battle aura rising as she did her father's demon head attack.  
  
"NOW!!!" the head boomed, brooking no argument.  
  
Sanma immediately dropped Ranko to the ground away from the pond,   
then after giving her another angry scowl, Sanma turns towards the   
house and rushes upstairs to her bedroom, where they all here the sound   
of a door slamming.  
  
Ranko stood up shakily as she rubbed her sore butt, "Geez, a guy   
can't take a joke." She muttered as she stood fully up, facing her   
parents, as she walked towards the kitchen.  
  
~Awhile Later~  
  
Ranko and Sanma ran through the streets of Nerima as they rushed   
towards Uc-chans restaurant. Both twins wore matching navy blue school   
uniforms, their long hair flying behind them in matching ponytails.  
  
Sanma was munching on an bacon and egg sandwich that he had fixed   
in a hurry from what left of that mornings breakfast, as while at the   
same time he was trying to fasten the buttons of uniform jacket.  
  
"Why did you have to take so long to just take one little bath,   
Sanma." Ranko growled as she kept in pace with her brother. "Now we   
only have half an hour to get to the school grounds on time. We're   
going to be late as it is thanks to you."  
  
"Oh quit complaining, will ya?!" Sanma snapped back, as he shot a   
glare at Ranko over his shoulder, "It's not my fault. You should have   
woken me up earlier than that. You know perfectly well that I never was   
much of an early riser."  
  
"Well what do you know." Sanma said as his eyes lit up behind the   
frames of his glasses, as he spotted something up ahead, as they   
reached Uc-chans. Parked right outside the restaurant was a familiar   
red sports car. "Look who's here, sis."  
  
As Ranko looked in the direction that Sanma was indicating in,   
her eyes immediately lit up in glee, as she picked up the pace.   
"Darien's here!!" she shrieked as she picked up her pace. "I wonder   
what he's doing here? I thought he's supposed to be working today."  
  
"We won't know until we find out, now won't we, Ranko." Sanma   
called  
  
***  
  
Darien Shields sat on one of the bar stools inside of Uchan's   
eating one of Ukyou's special ookanamayaki pizzas that she had fixed up   
for him, while Ukyou was busy working on another pizza for herself.   
  
"It was a good thing that you decided to stop by this morning on   
your way into Tokyo, Darien. I can't thank you enough for volunteering   
to take the kids to school, Darien." Ukyou said cheerfully as she   
flipped the pizza into the air, and smothered it in sauce. "Seeing how   
late Ranko and Sanma are arriving this morning, they'll need any help   
they can get in order to get their in time."  
  
"It's no problem, Aunt Ukyou." Darien said, as he Ukyou a broad   
smile, before taking another bite out of his ookanamayi pizza. "I   
always pass by Juban High on my way to work, so it's no problem at all.   
Anytime you need help just call me."  
  
"Thanks again, cuz." Jinpei said from his spot near the entrance   
doorway, his arms crossed over his chest, as he scowled out the door.   
Jinpei was rather tall for a 15 year old boy, who more like his father   
every day. His midnight black hair hung just past his shoulders, tied   
back with a red bandana. As he turned his attention towards Darien, he   
gave the older boy a grin that showed his fangs. "We owe you one."  
  
"You owe me a lot, but who's counting." Darien said jokingly, as   
he returned Jinpei's grin, before letting out a loud yawn.  
  
Hearing the yawn, Ukyou glanced over at Darien with a concerned   
look on her features. "What's wrong Darien? Have you been getting   
enough sleep?" she asked as she rounded the corner of the bar counter,   
and approached Darien, placing a hand on his forehead to check his   
temperature.  
  
"I'm fine Aunt Ukyou," Darien protested as he gently swatted her   
hand away. "I just haven't been getting any sleep lately, that's all."  
  
"Been having those dreams again?" Ukyou asked kindly as she sat   
down on the stool next to him. "Want to talk about it?"  
  
"Nothing to talk about. It's the same dream that I've been having   
almost every night since the accident 11 years ago that killed my   
parents." Darien explained as he stared over at Ukyou from under hooded   
eyes. "It's the same girl that's haunting my dreams, always asking me   
to help her. Even though I never seen her before, it feels like I do   
know her from somewhere when I look at her."  
  
"Hey, Dare. Don't let Ranko hear that. Or do you want her to get   
jealous over a girl that you dream about." Jinpei said teasingly as he   
moved forward towards the bar.  
  
Darien just smirked at his cousins words. "Not likely. Ranko   
knows that it's just been dreams I've been having, and they means   
nothing to me." He countered, before turning his attention back towards   
Ukyou as he continued his story. "Then a few months ago, I started   
having blackouts, but they've stopped now."  
  
"Blackouts? What type of blackouts?! Have you gone to see a   
doctor? Have you seen Dr. Tofu about this?" Ukyou demanded, her concern   
rising with each word.  
  
"I don't know. The last thing I remember doing when I have one,   
is that I could be walking on the street one moment then all of a   
sudden my head starts hurting and I black out, and then I'd wake up   
later somewhere else." He said not going into details.  
  
"Everyone, I see them coming!" Hikaru announced as she came   
running down the stairs, taking the steps two at a time as she goes,   
"Darien you better watch out. I saw Ranko pick up speed, when she saw   
your car parked outside." Hikaru warned as she straightened her school   
uniform, and ran a hand through her long hair. At 15, Hikaru looked   
more like her mother everyday, except for her eyes.  
  
"Darien!!" Ranko shouted as she rushed through the swinging   
doors, heading straight for Darien.  
  
"Hey, Ranko." Darien said as he stood up, his arms held out wide,   
as Ranko literally threw herself into his arms for a hug. "Missed me?"  
  
"What do you think?" Ranko demanded as she looked up into his   
eyes, as she returned his smile, before giving him a kiss on the lips.   
"What are you doing here, Darien? I thought you were going to be at   
work today."  
  
"I don't have to be there until later on, Ranko." Darien said to   
placate her. "Knowing you and Sanma I thought that I'd give the four of   
you a lift to Juban on my way to work. I think Tokimi and the others   
are already on their way there."  
  
"Well come on, then. We're going to be late as it is." Ranko   
said.   
  
"Hey Ranko, Sanma. Wait up." Ukyou called as she hurriedly placed   
two still steaming pizza's in boxes and threw the boxes at the twins   
who caught them easily. "Here's your lunch on me." Ukyou said with a   
smile.  
  
"Thanks, auntie Uchan." Ranko said as she ran out the door of the   
restaurant.  
  
"Yeah thanks, auntie Ukyou." Sanma said as he followed after his   
sister.  
  
"By mom," Hikaru and Jinpei both called at the same time as they   
ran out the door, with Darien right behind them.  
  
"See you later, Ukyou." Darien said as he pulled the restaraunt   
doors shut behind him, giving his aunt a mischevious wink befor ducking   
his head out the doors.  
================================  
Author's Notes:  
In this story, Darien Shields is Ukyou's nephew from his mothers   
side of the family. When his parents were killed in the accident, he   
was sent to live with the Hibiki's when he was seven years old. He's   
one year older than Ranko and Sanma.  
All further chapters of this story is going to start during what   
I've always considered the "Zoisite Saga" of the first season of Sailor   
Moon.  



End file.
